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Corporate deals seen as dangerous for Canadian universities

A University of Ontario Institute of Technology partnership with Durham College and the crown corporation Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to support nuclear engineering programs raised alarm bells with the Canadian Association of University Teachers over academic freedom. (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Cash-strapped Canadian universities are signing an alarming number of deals with donors that threaten academic freedom, warns a report by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) to be released Wednesday.

The report, called Open For Business, took a deep look at 12 campus-corporate collaborations in research and teaching, and found only half protect universities’ control over academic matters such as curriculum and hiring, only two prohibit professors from having a financial interest in the donor organization, only five guarantee the university unlimited right to publish its research findings and only two of the agreements are public. (CAUT obtained the rest using access to information legislation.)

These are lines universities must not cross when sharing power, or they risk losing the credibility that is their stock in trade, said Association Executive Director Jim Turk.

“The stakes here are high; universities need to protect the integrity of the work they do without being restricted by a private partner — without prostituting themselves for money — or why would the public support them?” said Turk.

One deal that raised concerns is the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) partnership with Durham College and the crown corporation Ontario Power Generation (OPG) to support nuclear engineering programs.

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The agreement says all three parties will work together to produce more employees for Canada’s nuclear industry and in particular, “meet the needs of OPG for a new generation of energy specialists.” It also suggests OPG can review and “enhance” curriculum — all of which CAUT found troubling.

“You can get advice from whomever you like, but nobody from OPG should have any decision-making say over UOIT,” said Turk. “It’s one thing to train nuclear scientists, but a university shouldn’t be the training arm for OPG.”

However the fledgling Oshawa university has a different mandate than others, noted founding nuclear engineering dean George Bereznai — “to produce graduates who are more job-ready than traditional universities have done; we are market-oriented and we work much more closely with industry.”

Still, the curriculum was written before OPG signed on, he said, and “all academic decisions are done through regular academic channels. We just listen more to industry than traditional universities, rather than just gaze at our own navels.”

The report also raised concerns about a Western University partnership with law firm Cassels, Brock and Blackwell to create a program in mining law, which it says gives the law firm too much say in hiring and programs. Western spokesperson Keith Marnoch said the university would not comment until it has seen the report.

CAUT praised the integrity of a deal between the University of Toronto, mining magnate Pierre Lassonde and Goldcorp Inc. to support the mining engineering program, and the U of T’s deal with mining mogul Peter Munk and the Ontario government to create the Munk School of Global Affairs, both of which largely protect academic freedom.

It also praised the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University’s joint program with BlackBerry founder Jim Balsillie’s think tank, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), for protecting the academic integrity of the Balsillie School of International Affairs.

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